Smart Home Delivery Services

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to a method and system that enable consumers to have deliveries made and services performed safely and securely when they are not at the location at which the delivery is made or service is performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The present patent application makes reference to, claims priority to,and claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/240,872, filed on Oct. 13, 2013, and titled “Smart Home Delivery andServices,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

SEQUENCE LISTING

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

BACKGROUND

The use of on-line (Internet-based) shopping with home delivery viacommercial carriers is rapidly growing. In addition, consumersincreasingly find themselves wishing to have service personnel performrepairs or other services in their homes, but find it difficult toschedule the work because the consumer must be at home to admit theworker into their home. Limitations and disadvantages of conventionalmethods and systems will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the presentmethods and systems set forth in the remainder of this disclosure withreference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the elements of an examplesystem, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of this disclosure provide a method and system thatenable consumers to have deliveries made and services performed safelyand securely when they are not at the location at which the delivery ismade or service is performed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application relates to ways of delivering goods and servicesto consumers. More specifically, the present application relates to amethod and system that enable consumers to have deliveries made andservices performed safely and securely when the consumer is not at thelocation at which the delivery is to be made or the service is to beperformed.

The following discussion describes a system and method that provides aconsumer with the ability to receive a service (e.g., delivery ofproduct(s), installation of new product, repairs of an existing product,or other services, etc.), without having to be at the location at whichthe service is to be performed (e.g., the residence of the consumer).The approach provides the consumer with the option of allowing a serviceprovider access to their home to permit them to complete the requestedservices, and to receive real-time updates of the service beingperformed.

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory (e.g., a volatileor non-volatile memory device, a general computer-readable medium, etc.)may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more linesof code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second oneor more lines of code.

As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a functionwhenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if anyis necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performanceof the function is disabled, or not enabled (e.g., by auser-configurable setting, factory setting or trim, etc.).

As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in thelist joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any elementof the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. That is, “x and/or y” means“one or both of x and y.” As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means anyelement of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z),(x, y, z)}. That is, “x, y, and/or x” means “one or more of x, y, andz.” As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set offlists of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,”“including,” “has,” “have,” “having,” and the like when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, afirst component, or a first section discussed below could be termed asecond element, a second component or a second section without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. Similarly, various spatialterms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” and the like, may be used indistinguishing one element from another element in a relative manner. Itshould be understood, however, that components may be oriented indifferent manners, for example a device may be turned sideways so thatits “top” surface is facing horizontally and its “side” surface isfacing vertically, without departing from the teachings of the presentdisclosure.

The inventive method and system described below provides for the safeand secure unattended delivery of goods and services to a consumerresidence.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the elements of an example system100, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Theillustration of FIG. 1 shows a network 105, a computer system 110, aconsumer device 120, a service provider device 130, and a residence 140.The network 105 may act to provide communication of information betweenthe various elements of FIG. 1.

The computer system 110 may comprise one or more processors that may beco-located or physically distributed, and may comprise a non-transitorystorage medium in which executable instructions are stored, accessed,and executed by the one or more processors. The executable instructionsmay cause the one or more processors to communicate with the storage114, and with the various elements of the system 100 of FIG. 1 via thenetwork 105. The computer system 110 comprises one or more softwareapplications 112 including, for example, web server applications forserving web pages to web browsers running on various user devicesaccessible via the network 105, and may also comprise web servicesapplications and other software applications to provide various servicesto devices accessible via the network 105 such as, for example, theconsumer device 120, the service provider device 130, and variousdevices located in the consumer home 140. The storage 114, in additionto storing executable instructions for the one or more processors of thecomputer system 115 may be used to store information for a plurality ofconsumers such as, for example, the consumer of consumer home 140 andvarious parameters and details to allow remote access to and/or use ofvarious devices in the consumer home 140, including any deviceswirelessly linked to the wireless router 144.

In addition to the functionality described above, the computer system110 may include functionality for processing in-store and/or on-line(e.g., Internet-based) consumer transactions such as, for example, thepurchase, return, and/or exchange or goods and/or services, or beequipped to receive such consumer transaction information from computersystems that process such in-store and/or on-line consumer transactions,such as via consumer access to web pages served by the web serverfunctionality described above.

The consumer device 120 may communicate wirelessly via, for example, thevoice and/or data services of a wireless service provider 150, which mayprovide connectivity to the network 105 to consumer device 120. Wirelessservice provider 150 may, for example, provide wireless communicationservices using cellular, Wi-Fi, CDMA, TDMA, GSM, and/or and othersuitable wireless interface standard such as those disclosed herein. Theconsumer device 120 may be, for example, a smart phone, tablet, personalcomputer or other device suitably equipped for wired and/or wirelesscommunication, and may have stored thereon one or more softwareapplications (“App 1”) 125, one of which may provide functionality topermit the consumer user to access web pages from computer system 110,and for the App 1 125 to communicate with a software application 112that provides functionality to permit the consumer user to remotelygranted access to and monitor the actions of service providers at thehome 140 of the consumer. The consumer device may be equipped with aglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver (e.g., GPS receiver)enabling the consumer device 120 to determine and report its geographiclocation to the computer system 110.

The service provider device 130 may communicate wirelessly via, forexample, the voice and/or data services of a wireless service provider160, which may or may not be the same wireless service provider aswireless service provider 150, and which may provide connectivity to thenetwork 105 to the service provider device 130. Wireless serviceprovider 160 may, for example, provide wireless communication servicesusing cellular, Wi-Fi, CDMA, TDMA, GSM, and/or any other suitablewireless interface standard such as those disclosed herein. The serviceprovider device 130 may be, for example, a smart phone, tablet, personalcomputer or other device suitably equipped for wired and/or wirelesscommunication, and may have stored thereon one or more softwareapplications (“App 2”) 135, one of which may provide functionality topermit the service provider user to access web pages from computersystem 110, and for the App 2 135 to communicate with the softwareapplication 112 that provides functionality to permit the consumer(e.g., using App 1 125 of consumer device 120) to remotely grant accessto the consumer home 140 to the service provider user of serviceprovider device 130, and to monitor the actions of service providers atthe home 140 of the consumer. The service provider device 130 may beequipped to communicate using a low-power or personal area network (PAN)such as, for example, using a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/af-compatiblewireless interface, and/or a short-range wireless communicationtechnology such as, for example, a Bluetooth-compatible wirelessinterface. Such wireless, or alternately, wired communication capabilityof the service provider device 130 may be used to connect to a digitalstill frame or video camera 137, similar to a body camera used by somepolice departments, that may be controlled and monitored by the App 2135 running on the service provider device 130 of FIG. 1. Images andvideo from the camera 137 may be communicated via the softwarefunctionality of the App 2 135 in service provider device 130 to thecomputer system 110 for preservation in storage 114 and/or distributionto the consumer device 120 for display to the consumer. The App 1 125and App 2 135 may provide text and/or voice communication between theconsumer device 120 and the service provider device 135, to permit theconsumer and service provider to communicate with one another inaccordance with the supervision and/or control of the softwareapplication 112 of computer system 110.

The residence 140 may include, for example, a wireless router 144 thatcommunicates via a wired or wireless connection to the network 105, andmay include wireless interface functionality compatible with any of avariety of wireless communication standards including, for example, theIEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/af standards, and may also communicate usinglow-power, short range wireless radio-frequency interfaces such asBluetooth, ZigBee, LoRan, or other wireless technology. As illustratedin FIG. 1, the consumer home 140 may also include a door lock 146 thatis wirelessly linked to the wireless router 144 using any of the radiofrequency technologies mentioned above. In addition to being able tocommunicate with the wireless router 144, the door lock 146 may besuitably equipped to communicate directly with the consumer device 120and/or the service provider device 130 using, for example, signalscompatible with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and/or any other suitable wirelessinterface standard such as those described above.

In addition to the above, the illustration of FIG. 1 shows a virtualboundary 170 that may be, for example, a geographic region surroundingthe residence 140 that defines a zone used for acceptance and control ofaccess to the residence 140 by a service provider. The virtual boundary170 may be enforced using, for example, signals communicated betweenand/or among the service provider device 130, the wireless router 144,the door lock 146, and/or the camera 137, described above. Theenforcement of the virtual boundary 170 may also use GNSS-basedgeo-location functionality of the service provider device 130, asdescribed below.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a consumermay purchase a product and/or service from a merchant/vendor via eitheran in-store or an on-line sales channel, and may at the time of theirpurchase be offered the option of having the delivery of the purchaseditems, or the performance of the service, without their physicalpresence at their residence (e.g., residence 140). In accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, unattended delivery of theirproduct or service may be handled in two different ways.

In a first approach, a consumer making a purchase at an in-store pointof sale may be offered the option to use a lock-box to be attached totheir residence. Information identifying the lock-box provided to theconsumer is associated with the consumer's scheduled delivery or servicein a computer system such as the computer system 110 of FIG. 1. On thedate of the scheduled delivery or service, the consumer places a key totheir residence in the lock-box, attaches the lock-box to the entrydoor, and goes about their schedule for the day. Upon arrival at theresidence of the consumer, the assigned service provider uses a softwareapplication resident on a handheld device of the service provider suchas, for example, the App 2 135 of the service provider device 130 ofFIG. 1 described above, to access a code assigned to the lock-boxassociate with the order of the consumer. The service provider then usesthe code to unlock the lock-box and retrieve the key for the consumerentry door, and uses the key to enter the residence of the consumer, andcomplete the delivery or performance of the service. In accordance withaspects of the present disclosure, arrival at the residence of theconsumer (i.e., arrival within the virtual boundary 170) causes thehandheld device of the service provider (e.g., the service providerdevice 130) to activate a camera carried on their person (e.g., camera137), which records the whereabouts of the service provider for theduration of their visit to the residence of the consumer (i.e., the timeduring which the service provider is within the virtual boundary 170).Arrival of the service provider at the residence and their departure(e.g., the period during which the service provider is within thevirtual boundary 170) is reported by the handheld device of the serviceprovider to a computer system of the merchant/vendor (e.g., the computersystem 110 of FIG. 1), which records these events in the recordsassociated with the purchase and the consumer. Note that the handhelddevice of the service provider requires verification by the camera thatthe camera is functioning properly before the access code is provided tothe service provider. Also note that the access code will not beprovided to the service provider if the service provider is not at theresidence of the correct consumer corresponding to the scheduleddelivery or service (i.e., not within the virtual boundary 170).

In a second approach, a consumer making a purchase at an in-store pointof sale of a merchant or vendor may be offered the option to purchase a“wireless smart lock” (e.g., door lock 146 of FIG. 1). This may occur,for example, when the consumer is scheduling delivery of their purchaseditem(s) or performance of the purchased service(s). The “wireless smartlock” may replace an existing portion of the lock used at the entry ofthe residence of the consumer. Information identifying the “wirelesssmart lock” provided to the consumer (e.g., serial number, media accesscontrol (MAC) address, model, or similar information) may then beassociated with the consumer in storage of a computer system that mayremotely enable access to the residence (e.g., the storage 114 ofcomputer system 110 of FIG. 1). In addition, instructions may beprovided to the consumer on how to enable the “wireless smart lock” tocommunicate through the wireless router (e.g., use of Wireless ProtectSetup (WPS), association (for Bluetooth), or other similar known methodsof enable wireless devices to securely communicate) in their residence.Once installed at the entry door of the consumer residence, the“wireless smart lock” may communicate via a wireless router in theconsumer residence (e.g., wireless router 144 of residence 140 ofFIG. 1) to a computer system that enable and tracks access to theresidence (e.g., computer system 110 of FIG. 1). Following the consumerpurchase, a service provider of the merchant/vendor may be assigned tothe scheduled delivery of the purchased item(s) or service(s). On thedate of the scheduled delivery or service, the consumer simply goesabout their schedule for the day. Upon arrival at the residence of theconsumer, the assigned service provider uses a software applicationresident on a handheld device of the service provider such as, forexample, the App 2 135 of the service provider device 130 of FIG. 1described above, to indicate her/his presence at the residence of theconsumer having the scheduled delivery or service. The softwareapplication then notifies the computer system of the action of theservice provider. Note that the arrival of the service provider at theresidence (e.g., within the virtual boundary 170 of FIG. 1)automatically notifies the computer system of the presence of theservice provider at the consumer residence. The computer system thenenables the wireless smart lock (e.g., via the network 105 and wirelessrouter 144 of FIG. 1) to unlock the consumer entry door, and the serviceprovider then enters the residence of the consumer, and complete thedelivery or performance of the service. In accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure, arrival at the residence of the consumer (i.e.,arrival within the virtual boundary 170) causes the handheld device ofthe service provider (e.g., the service provider device 130) to activatea camera carried on their person (e.g., camera 137), which records thewhereabouts of the service provider for the duration of their visit tothe residence of the consumer (i.e., the time during which the serviceprovider is within the virtual boundary 170). As noted above, arrival ofthe service provider at the consumer residence and their departure(e.g., the period during which the service provider is within thevirtual boundary 170) is reported by the handheld device of the serviceprovider to a computer system of the merchant/vendor (e.g., the computersystem 110 of FIG. 1), which records these events in the recordsassociated with the purchase and the consumer. Note once again that thehandheld device of the service provider requires verification by thecamera that the camera is functioning properly before the access code isprovided to the service provider. Also note that the access code willnot be provided to the service provider if the service provider is notat the residence of the correct consumer corresponding to the scheduleddelivery or service (i.e., not within the virtual boundary 170).

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, thecomputer system (e.g., the computer system 110 of FIG. 1) may provideinformation to the consumer identifying by name, picture,merchant/vendor ID image or number, etc., the service provider that willbe visiting the residence of the consumer at the scheduled date andtime. Such information may be added with other details of the visit bythe service provider in the records for the consumer maintained by thecomputer system (e.g., computer system 110).

Also in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the computersystem may provide to the consumer, via a user interface (e.g., via aweb page served to a browser on the consumer device 120 or informationsent to the App 1 125 of consumer device 120, or any other suitablecommunication device, personal computer, etc.), suitable controls anddisplayed information to enable the consumer to schedule access to theirresidence by individuals other than the service provider(s) of themerchant/vendor. In such an arrangement, use of a camera (e.g., camera137) and detection of proximity to the residence of the consumer (e.g.,using virtual boundary 170) may not be involved. Reporting of the entryto the residence of the consumer by those scheduled by the consumer mayoccur, depending on options selected by the consumer for the scheduledvisit.

In accordance with additional aspects of the present disclosure,approval of entry by the service provider may be requested of theconsumer by the computer system described herein. That is, a computersystem such as the computer system 110 of FIG. 1 may communicate withthe consumer, providing information about the service provider at thetime that the service provider is attempting to gain access to theresidence. That information may include, for example, a current image ofthe service provider as provided by the camera carried by the serviceprovider (i.e., the service provider may be required to point the cameraat their own face), and a copy of an image of the assigned serviceprovider that is on record on the computer system (e.g., stored on thestorage 114 or computer system 110) may also be provided to theconsumer, to enable them to determine whether the individual attemptingaccess is the one authorized to visit the residence of the consumer. Inaccordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, automated facerecognition/verification may be used, and images of the service providerduring access attempts may be stored on the disclosed computer systemfor later use. This storage of image information is in addition to thestorage of live camera video that may be used during the duration of thevisit to the residence of the consumer, described above.

In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, email or otherforms of notification may be sent by the computer system to designatedemail addresses or other destinations (e.g., text messaging, multimediaservice messaging, social media web sites or accounts, etc.) when theevents of accessing and leaving the residence of the consumer occurs.Such notifications may include still images or links to video capturedat certain times during the visit of the service provider(s).

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a wirelesssmart lock as described herein may transmit and receive wireless signalsfrom the service provider device (e.g., service provider device 135),and may also transmit and receive wireless signals to and from awireless router such as, for example, the wireless router 144 of FIG. 1.

In accordance with additional aspects of the present disclosure, thecomputer system described herein, or any other suitable element of FIG.1, may communicate with a commercial security agency or firm to notifythe agency when entry by a service provider or other authorizedindividual to the residence of the consumer will occur, to enable thesecurity agency to be aware of the authorized entrance. Similarly, thecomputer system may communicate with the security agency when theservice provider or other authorized individual has left the residenceof the consumer, to enable the security agency to once again fullymonitor the residence for any problems.

Aspects of the present disclosure may be found in a method of operatinga system enabling remote authorization and monitoring of physical accessto a building. Such a method may comprise receiving, by a computersystem in response to a consumer retail transaction, a request toschedule physical access by a designated individual to a building of theconsumer; and notifying the designated individual of details of thescheduled physical access. The method may also comprise determiningwhether the designated individual is detected within a defined boundaryof the building; and if the designated individual is determined to bewithin the defined boundary: enabling storage of video images wirelesslyreceived from a camera on the designated individual, and transmittingnotification of arrival by the designated individual at the building, toan electronic device of the consumer. The method may also compriseenabling entry of the designated individual into the building of theconsumer; and if the designated individual is determined to not bewithin the defined boundary: disabling storage of video imageswirelessly received from the camera on the designated individual, andtransmitting notification of departure by the designated individual fromthe building, to the electronic device of the consumer.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the consumer retailtransaction may be received from a retail point of sale terminal, andthe computer system may receive the consumer retail transaction from aretail transaction processing system. The camera may be wirelesslycoupled to a handheld device of the designated individual that sends thevideo images to the computer system via a wireless receiver located thebuilding, and enabling entry of the designated individual into thebuilding may comprise verifying that the camera is functioning properly.Enabling entry of the designated individual into the building maycomprise assigning the designated individual to the scheduled physicalaccess in the computer system, and the notification of arrivaltransmitted to the consumer may comprise an image of the designatedindividual.

Further aspects in accordance with the present disclosure may be seen ina non-transitory computer readable medium having a plurality of codesections, where each code section comprises a plurality of instructionsexecutable by one or more processors, to cause the one or moreprocessors to perform steps of a method such as the method describedabove.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure may be found in a systemenabling remote authorization and monitoring of physical access to abuilding. Such a system may comprise a computer system comprising one ormore processors for communicatively coupling to a handheld electronicdevice, where the one or more processors may be operable to, at least,perform the actions of the method described above.

Although devices, methods, and systems according to the presentdisclosure may have been described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form setforth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover suchalternative, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonablyincluded within the scope of this disclosure and appended diagrams.

Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be realizedin hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.Aspects of the present disclosure may be realized in a centralizedfashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashionwhere different elements are spread across several interconnectedcomputer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adaptedfor carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typicalcombination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computersystem with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed,controls the computer system such that it carries out the methodsdescribed herein.

Various aspects of the present disclosure may also be embedded in acomputer program product, which comprises all the features enabling theimplementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded ina computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer programin the present context means any expression, in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form.

While various aspects of the present disclosure have been described withreference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may besubstituted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particularsituation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure withoutdeparting from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the presentdisclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, butthat the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a system enabling remoteauthorization and monitoring of physical access to a building, themethod comprising: receiving, by a computer system in response to aconsumer retail transaction, a request to schedule physical access by adesignated individual to a building of the consumer; notifying thedesignated individual of details of the scheduled physical access;determining whether the designated individual is detected within adefined boundary of the building; if the designated individual isdetermined to be within the defined boundary: enabling storage of videoimages wirelessly received from a camera on the designated individual,and transmitting notification of arrival by the designated individual atthe building, to an electronic device of the consumer; enabling entry ofthe designated individual into the building of the consumer; and if thedesignated individual is determined to not be within the definedboundary: disabling storage of video images wirelessly received from thecamera on the designated individual, and transmitting notification ofdeparture by the designated individual from the building, to theelectronic device of the consumer.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the consumer retail transaction is received from a retail pointof sale terminal.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecomputer system receives the consumer retail transaction from a retailtransaction processing system.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein the camera is wirelessly coupled to a handheld device of thedesignated individual that sends the video images to the computer systemvia a wireless receiver located the building.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein enabling entry of the designated individual into thebuilding comprises verifying that the camera is functioning properly. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein enabling entry of thedesignated individual into the building comprises assigning thedesignated individual to the scheduled physical access in the computersystem.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the notification ofarrival transmitted to the consumer comprises an image of the designatedindividual.
 8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having aplurality of code sections, each code section comprising a plurality ofinstructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one ormore processors to perform steps of a method of operating a systemenabling remote authorization and monitoring of physical access to abuilding, the steps comprising: receiving, by a computer system inresponse to a consumer retail transaction, a request to schedulephysical access by a designated individual to a building of theconsumer; notifying the designated individual of details of thescheduled physical access; determining whether the designated individualis detected within a defined boundary of the building; if the designatedindividual is determined to be within the defined boundary: enablingstorage of video images wirelessly received from a camera on thedesignated individual, and transmitting notification of arrival by thedesignated individual at the building, to an electronic device of theconsumer; enabling entry of the designated individual into the buildingof the consumer; and if the designated individual is determined to notbe within the defined boundary: disabling storage of video imageswirelessly received from the camera on the designated individual, andtransmitting notification of departure by the designated individual fromthe building, to the electronic device of the consumer.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 8, whereinthe consumer retail transaction is received from a retail point of saleterminal.
 10. The non-transitory computer readable medium according toclaim 8, wherein the computer system receives the consumer retailtransaction from a retail transaction processing system.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 8, whereinthe camera is wirelessly coupled to a handheld device of the designatedindividual that sends the video images to the computer system via awireless receiver located the building.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium according to claim 8, wherein enabling entry of thedesignated individual into the building comprises verifying that thecamera is functioning properly.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedium according to claim 8, wherein enabling entry of the designatedindividual into the building comprises assigning the designatedindividual to the scheduled physical access in the computer system. 14.The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 8,wherein the notification of arrival transmitted to the consumercomprises an image of the designated individual.
 15. A system enablingremote authorization and monitoring of physical access to a building,the system comprising: a computer system comprising one or moreprocessors for communicatively coupling to a handheld electronic device,the one or more processors operable to, at least: receive, by thecomputer system in response to a consumer retail transaction, a requestto schedule physical access by a designated individual to a building ofthe consumer; notify the designated individual of details of thescheduled physical access; determine whether the designated individualis detected within a defined boundary of the building; if the designatedindividual is determined to be within the defined boundary: enablestorage of video images wirelessly received from a camera on thedesignated individual, and transmit notification of arrival by thedesignated individual at the building, to an electronic device of theconsumer; enable entry of the designated individual into the building ofthe consumer; and if the designated individual is determined to not bewithin the defined boundary: disable storage of video images wirelesslyreceived from the camera on the designated individual, and transmitnotification of departure by the designated individual from thebuilding, to the electronic device of the consumer.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the consumer retail transaction isreceived from a retail point of sale terminal.
 17. The system accordingto claim 15, wherein the computer system receives the consumer retailtransaction from a retail transaction processing system.
 18. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the camera is wirelessly coupled to ahandheld device of the designated individual that sends the video imagesto the computer system via a wireless receiver located the building. 19.The system according to claim 15, wherein enabling entry of thedesignated individual into the building comprises verifying that thecamera is functioning properly.
 20. The system according to claim 15,wherein enabling entry of the designated individual into the buildingcomprises assigning the designated individual to the scheduled physicalaccess in the computer system.
 21. The system according to claim 15,wherein the notification of arrival transmitted to the consumercomprises an image of the designated individual.